Court Strikes Out Case Against NAFDAC

An Owerri High Court has struck out a ‘garnishee’ proceedings instituted by Reagan Remedies Nigeria Ltd., an Owerri-based pharmaceutical company, against  National Agency For Food, Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC).

A garnishee proceedings seeks to obtain a court order compelling a bank that keeps account for a judgment debtor to pay the debt to the judgment creditor.

An Owerri-based Federal High Court, presided over by Justice F.A. Olubanjo, had in June 2010 ordered NAFDAC to pay more than N898 million damages to the company for wrongful closure.

The court later in June ordered that the judgment debt be paid into an account to be opened by the Principal Assistant Registrar of the court, pending the determination of the appeal against the judgment.

In spite of the ruling, Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr A. U. Onyenefe, filed an application before an Owerri High Court, seeking on order for the execution of the original judgment.

Sequel to the application, the court presided over by Justice Benjamin Njemanze, summoned eight banks including the Central Bank of Nigeria to appear before it.

But NAFDAC through its counsel, Mr Sebastine Hon (SAN), opposed the application on the grounds that the procedure adopted was an abuse of the court processes.

Striking out the suit, the state chief judge observed that the plaintiff was aware of the Federal High Court’s ruling and the pending appeal filed by the respondent, but failed to draw the court’s attention to them.

“Let me use this opportunity to remind counsel that as law officers of the court, they should be fair and honest in carrying out their responsibilities and not try to deceive the court.

“The conduct of the counsel to the applicant is an abuse of court processes and lawyers should not do anything to delay or obstruct justice,” he said.